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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
I happened to like its ovoid second-gen styling, but I was obviously outnumbered by those who were either appalled or simply not interested and therefore the Cube died a quiet death a couple of years ago. Nissan’s unorthodox Juke continues on, and is actually more of a true SUV than the taller wagon-like crossover as it offers optional all-wheel drive, which is why it’s probably best to leave the funky Kia Soul and even more oddball Scion xB out of this conversation too.
This
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Out
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Enter calendar year 2015 and this list gets mixed up a bit, the Trax still leading the way with 4,859 year-to-date sales as of August, but the new Honda HR-V stole
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
There are good reasons for the CX-3’s early success, the first being styling. It all starts off with Mazda’s trademark Kodo “Soul of Motion” design language, easily the best of recent attempts to give the Japanese brand clearly recognizable and highly emotive character traits. As with all of Mazda’s new redesigns, a large pentagonal grille reaches upwards and outwards from its lowest vertex with chrome-trimmed arms that pierce right through each lens of its narrow, elongated headlamps, whereas vertical fogs just below lean in unison with the outside edges of the lower centre grille.
The
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Black is the theme on the opposite pole as well, an aggressive rally-style front spoiler joined by flared wheel arches, extended side rockers and a bold rear bumper underscoring the design, while narrow squinting taillights somehow manage to follow all the juxtaposed cutlines while looking positively brilliant doing so, and dual chrome-tipped exhaust pipes impertinently poke out from the rear valance.
Rounding
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
From nose to tail the CX-3 seems alert and alive, but not in a happy and playful puppy sort of way. Carnivorous for sure, but it’s more bug-like or reptilian. Either way, it’s a design I can’t take my eyes off of.
Inside, the CX-3 measures up to Mazda’s high level of quality if not its usual cabin size. The Japanese brand finished my top-line GT tester in a two-tone motif of dark grey/blacks and wine red, an unusual combination yet still quite nice compared to the normal bright red contrast most companies go with when they want
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Back to interior trim, beautiful brushed aluminum door inlays surround metal-like door handles that really feel weighty, while the inserts are made from a suede-like material and slightly padded wine red door pull/armrests are finished in stitched leatherette, just like the sides of the centre stack that are padded even more to benefit each front occupant’s inner knee. Mazda’s carbon-look plastic surfacing adds a little more splash to the steering wheel spokes, centre stack recess and window
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The primary gauges are gorgeous and ideally simple with a large tachometer at centre, the only actual dial in the cluster, the speedometer shown in a simple and clear LCD readout that gets duplicated in the head-up Active Driving Display unit when
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
An SD card slot, two USBs, an aux plug and a 12-volt charger occupy the lowest portion of the centre stack, these standard items being part of a superb sounding upgraded Bose audio system in GT trim, while sitting just behind is a nicely detailed shift lever with a leather and
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
A Sport mode button is positioned just behind, that when actuated allows for higher engine revs before shifts, especially enjoyable when the gearbox is slotted into manual mode and paddle shifters engaged.
That’s where I left it much of the time, as the CX-3 is a joy to drive quickly. Its Skyactiv 16-valve, DOHC, direct-injection 2.0-litre four puts out 146 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque that connects through a quick shifting six-speed autobox before
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Despite its diminutive dimensions the CX-3 feels plenty solid at those high speeds too, whether cruising down the freeway or slaloming through sets of S turns, its independent strut and stabilizer bar equipped front suspension and rear torsion beam setup absolutely stable even over mid-corner bumps, while electrically powered rack-and-pinion steering delivered good response and my GT tester’s 215/50R18 all-seasons provided all the grip this little tyke will ever need.
As
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
All this is good, but does it also do duty as a practical family and gear hauler? That’s where I came away surprised. Few should complain about the CX-3’s front seat accommodations from roominess to comfort, the leather and suede covered seats of my GT extremely supportive with good adjustability and an excellent design for bearing the lower back, but there was also plenty of room in the rear where the seats were also much better than I expected.
Additionally,
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The CX-3’s standard rearview camera was helpful with the cargo compartment filled
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
The mid-grade GS model starts at $24,195 and adds auto on/off headlights, heatable door mirrors with integrated turn signals, rain-sensing wipers, a leather-wrapped
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
My top-tier GT tester is only available with AWD and starts at $28,995 while boasting a features set that should make the majority of premium brands blush with embarrassment, including LED headlamps with signature lighting, adaptive cornering capability and automatic leveling, LED fog lamps, LED taillights, those 18-inch rims I mentioned earlier, leather and Lux Suede-trimmed upholstery, paddle shifters, proximity-sensing passive entry, auto climate control, the heads-up Active Driving Display I also noted before, navigation, voice activation, and the seven-speaker Bose audio upgrade I mentioned earlier.
While my tester included the black and red interior theme, you can also get GT trim
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
No matter which trim level you choose, your dealer can provide a number of accessories including a $2,261 gloss-black finish aero kit with a front air dam, side sill extensions, rear diffuser and rear spoiler to help improve aerodynamics, reduce drag and enhance styling, as well as a $430 block heater, $115 front mudguards, $127 rear mudguards, $175 front wet weather floor liners, a single $129 second-row floor liner, and more.
I
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Photo: Karen Tuggay, Canadian Auto Press |
Unless size really matters, I recommend a look at this new subcompact SUV class as most of the vehicles on offer deliver impressive all-in-one versatility along with a level of sporty yet efficient all weather motoring not available elsewhere. So far I haven’t tested every newcomer listed above, the others already booked and therefore soon to be tested and reviewed, but they’ll have to be very impressive to beat the CX-3. It delivers all that’s expected in this segment while adding refinement, features and performance competencies that are solidly above the segment status quo. That it looks so good doesn’t hurt matters either.
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